


Bow Down To Your Future Queen

by asdgsf



Series: Ghosts That We Thought We Knew [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters - Freeform, Drunk Arya, F/M, Gendry's not a bastard, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm also bad at summaries, Jon/Arya( it could be if you want to read it like that but then it gets angsty), Once again i tried and failed at tagging, Robb's my baby, Theon's a bitch, and Arya is Jon's baby, i love Sansa btw, so is jon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:27:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23690815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asdgsf/pseuds/asdgsf
Summary: Jon gives her time to calm down waiting for her to talk when she is ready 'It's Gendry...' Jon stops his hand and looks at Robb and he can see the fury he feels reflected on his eyes. 'Did he..do something Arya?' Robb asks with anger evident in his voice. Arya stills for a seconds then starts sobbing harder. Jon can see Robb's about to go find Gendry when Arya talks again 'I love him.' and once again buries her head to Jons lap.Jon feels like a weight has been lifted from his heart and he can see Robb relax as he drinks from the bottle.Minutes later Jon finds the words to talk 'You love him? What's wrong with that? Why are you crying?' Arya finally lifts her face and looks into his eyes directly, first time since she came to his room 'I don't want to be queen.' she says it in a voice that breaks Jon's heart, she looks so small like this, like she is 9 again asking him if she is as ugly as Jeyne says, 'Don't believe a thing she says, she's a liar.' he used to say automatically, now he can't find what to say.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Jon Snow & Arya Stark, Jon Snow & Arya Stark & Bran Stark & Rickon Stark & Robb Stark & Sansa Stark
Series: Ghosts That We Thought We Knew [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1712809
Comments: 17
Kudos: 93





	Bow Down To Your Future Queen

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go again, please tell me if i made any mistakes, it's hard writing in another language. It's my second fanfic so please be kind.  
> It is a continuation of Third Time's A Charm but you don't have to read that one to understand this one.

Jon knows he is lucky to have these amazing siblings he has.

He had lost Sansa a long time ago but they were never that close to begin with. Of course it hurt to lose a sister but he manages just fine. What matters the most is the other siblings he has.

There is Robb, strong, righteous and sweet Robb. The one who defends Jon to Catelyn Stark's face unashamed and full of rage, too much rage for someone his age. They grew up together, witnessed eachothers first everythings, trained together. Robb sees him as a brother and doesn't care that he is a bastard. Jon knows Robb's destined to be someone great and he hopes to be there beside him, assisting him in every way he can when it happens.

He had wanted to join Night's Watch longtime ago, he had wanted to leave all of this behind and go somewhere no one cared he was Ned Stark's bastard. He was younger then, selfish and full of pride.

Robb was the first one to say no, he had said 'You can't leave me alone with all this responsibilities, i need my brother here with me, someone i can trust, someone i can turn to.' Jon still remembered Robb's heartbroken face when he said 'I'm not your brother, not really.' in the end it was Arya who had changed his mind, but it had felt good to know that Robb cared.

Jon still thank the gods everyday for that drunken night when Arya had begged him to stay. Who knows where he'd be if he had decided to go. Probably dead somewhere beyond the wall or as Arya predicted stabbed to death by his 'brothers' because he was that annoying apparently.

There is Bran, same with Robb he knows what bastard means but he doesn't understand why it's a bad thing or rather he doesn't understand why Jon's being punished for sins of other people. Bran is brilliant, always thinking something new, something thats never been done before. He loves climbing, Jon suspects it's because up there everything seems so small, like a game, no more obligations or expectations. He can stop being Brandon Stark there and just be Bran. Jon knows he doesn't want to be someone great, he just wants to be Bran or Maester Bran maybe.

There is Rickon, wild, untamed and reckless. Being the youngest he is unburdened from all the expectations. Too young to know what bastard means but not too young to not understand the way people look at Jon, the way Catelyn Stark looks at him. Rickon doesn't understand it, he loves Jon, he stomps Sansa's feet when she is mean towards him. Jon's waiting the day he learns what bastard means, afraid that he's gonna lose one more sibling.

Then there is Arya, as strong as Robb, as brilliant as Bran, as lovely as Sansa, as wild and reckless as Rickon if not more, willful, fierce, stubborn, kind, benevolent and so much more than Jon can emphasize.

Jon doesn't know what he did right for gods to give him Arya. Arya loves him with her everything and sees a different Jon than what everyone else sees. She sees the best in him and he is so lost in the warmth of her love he can forget Sansa's distance since she knew what bastard meant and sometimes he can even forget Catelyn Stark.

Arya knows what bastard means, she just doesn't care. She listens as her mother explains why Jon is not really her brother and the second Catelyn is finished she runs to Jon.

Jon knows Catelyn blames him for Arya's personality too. She thinks Jon is the one who gave her this wilderness she has but Jon knows better. Arya was always this wild inside, that fire burning within.

He remembers when they were younger, Arya had come to him asking for lessons. She wanted to fight, wanted to protect herself. She didn't want to depend on anyone to save her. He would've teased her if he hadn't see the desperate look in her eyes.

He says no at first, tells her that Catelyn Stark would kill him if he said yes. 'I thought out of everyone i know you would understand but i was wrong i guess.' and that was the last thing he heard about the lessons from her for a month.

Then Jon catches her behind an abandoned tower, fighting with a kid bigger than her, wooden swords in both of their hands. Jon watchs them. Arya is ruthless, she has the boy on his knees in minutes and Jon can see her bored face. 'If you keep losing how am i supposed to improve?' she helps him get back on his feet 'It's not my fault you're this good, i'm not Rodrik okay?! Find someone better than you if you want to improve.'

Before Arya can say anything Bran is coming down from the tower 'I saw Jon, i think he is coming here' he watches as Arya makes a worried face, she is about to run away he realizes, so he comes out from his hiding spot.

'Okay' Arya is looking at him with a confused expression 'What?' 'I'll teach you.' Arya now laughs at him 'What about mother killing you?' 'She already wants me dead why not give her one more reason.'

He had teached her everything he knew and she was better than him in a year. She was a fighter from birth. Things which took Jon months to master, she mastered it in weeks.

After he teached her everything he knew starting from the basics 'Stick them with the pointy end' 'I know which end to use', they started to learn it together. Rodrik would show it to Jon then Jon would go and show it to Arya and they would practice it together.

He always had a feeling that Rodrik knew about Arya and his suspicions were confirmed when he went to Mikken for a sword for Arya. Rodrik were there smiling at him and so was Mikken. Rodrik had asked if she was good and he had said 'Better than me.' They had teased him about it for weeks while he watched Mikken work on Arya's sword but it was worth the smile on Arya's face when he gave it to her.

'It's so skinny.'  
'So are you. I had Mikken make this special. The bravos use swords like this in Pentos and Myr and the other Free Cities. It won't hack a man's head off, but it can poke him full of holes if you're fast enough.'  
'I can be fast.' a doubtful look crossed her face 'Septa Mordane will take it away from me.'  
'Not if she doesn't know you have it. Whatever you do..'  
'...don't...tell...Sansa!' they said it together.  
'I almost forgot. All the best swords have names.'  
'Like Ice. Does this have a name? Oh, tell me.'  
'Can't you guess?' Jon teased 'Your very favorite thing.' Arya seemed puzzled at first. Then it came to her. She was that quick. They said it together 'Needle!'

The memory of her laughter warmed him even on the coldest night.

Catelyn Stark was wrong. He may have been the one who gave her a sword but he was not the one who gave her the will to wield it. She had it in her from the start. She was the most northerner one out of all of them, she had the north in her blood and she understood it more than anyone.

Jon had only seen Arya cry when they were alone so it's not a suprise when she barges into his room crying and drunk. She comes running to him kneeling in front of him and leans her head on his lap. Normally he wouldn't care but right now he is not alone.

There is Robb and Theon sitting with him, they were drinking together and laughing minutes ago, right now there is no trace of any laughter as they look at Jon and Arya. He can see the look Theon gives him, Jon knows what he is thinking and it makes his blood boil. Jon can see the worry on Robb's face, there is no suspicion or anything, just worry for his sister so Jon stops thinking about anything else and focuses on her. 'Arya' He slowly starts to play with her hair 'What's wrong?'

Jon gives her time to calm down waiting for her to talk when she is ready 'It's Gendry...' Jon stops his hand and looks at Robb and he can see the fury he feels reflected on his eyes. 'Did he..do something Arya?' Robb asks with anger evident in his voice. Arya stills for a seconds then starts sobbing harder. Jon can see Robb's about to go find Gendry when Arya talks again 'I love him.' and once again buries her head to Jons lap.

Jon feels like a weight has been lifted from his heart and he can see Robb relax as he drinks from the bottle.

Jon loves Gendry. He has every good aspect of his father and nothing bad except maybe the fury they share. Jon had talked with him so many times for the past 6 years since he came to Winterfell, he knows him like the back of his hand. Jon knows Gendry hates his father for everything he did to his mother and he hates his mother for who she is. He doesn't want to be king but he will because he is afraid of what would happen to people if Joffrey becomes king. Jon knows he would rather be a blacksmith.

Jon knows Gendry loves Arya. He knows it even before Arya knows. He can see it in the looks Gendry gives her, in the way he touches her, he doesn't act like Arya is a thing he could break, so fragile, he swings his hammer as hard as he would with anyone else but still manages to make his touch featherlike outside of the training field like she is the most precious thing to him. Jon can see it when Gendry takes the blame for Arya's mistakes even if she doesn't know. He can see it as Gendry forges a dagger for her, so careful as he carves a wolf head to the daggers hilt. Gendry never found the courage to give it to her but Jon knows he still hides it somewhere. 

Jon can see Gendry loves her just the way she is, Gendry never tries to change anything about her and everytime he sees her do something 'unladylike' there is that glow in his eyes. Gendry loves every piece of her and Jon's grateful for it.

Arya would never accept it but Jon knows she has issues with her selfworth because of all the bullying she had to face when she was younger. She thinks it's too much work to love her, if only Jon could make her see that loving her is as easy as breathing.

Arya says she had grown out of it but sometimes Jon can still see that little girl, afraid that no one will ever know her like her father knows her mother, no one will ever love her, no one will ever understand her and she is terrified of it.

Arya used to hate Sansa because she was everything Arya could never be, even if she tried her hardest, it wasn't in her blood. Jon always had to remind her 'Sansa can't do half the things you can. It's not a competition Arya. You two have different interests and that is all.'  
She had cried in Jon's arms way too many times, afraid that she would be alone without a pack to call her own. Jon had tried his hardest and he'd like to think that he did a good job of supporting her but there is only so much he can do as a brother, so he is grateful that gods gave her Gendry.

Arya loves Gendry and Jon can see it in the way her eyes always turns to him when there is something funny, just to see him smile -it used to be me, he thinks bittersweet, the one she used to seek in a crowd, now it's him-, he can see it when Arya accepts whatever is thrusted upon her without a fight, just to finish it quicker so she can go back to the forge. Jon can see it in the way her eyes shine when she hears his name, sees his face.

And Jon can see it now as Arya sobs into his lap.

Minutes later Jon finds the words to talk 'You love him? What's wrong with that? Why are you crying?' Arya finally lifts her face and looks into his eyes directly, first time since she came to his room 'I don't want to be queen.' she says it in a voice that breaks Jon's heart, she looks so small like this, like she is 9 again asking him if she is as ugly as Jeyne says, 'Don't believe a thing she says, she's a liar.' he used to say automatically, now he can't find what to say.

Jon can hear Theon's silent laughter and once again he is filled with rage towards him but instead of giving him any attention he focuses on Arya.

'You don't have to be anything you don't want to Arya, no one can force you.' 'But i want Gendry.' her lips are trembling and Jon is dying inside 'And i can't have Gendry if i'm not queen. I don't want to be queen Jon, i'd be the worst queen ever but i want Gendry.' and she is back to sobbing.

He takes a look at Robb and sees the shock on his face. Everyone in Winterfell knows about Gendry and Arya but most of them doesn't think it could go any further than what they have now.

Their father's men say Arya would never settle down, she is a wolf, she would never fit in the role of a wife and she is too honest, too good, too northerner to survive in the south.

Some women in Winterfell says he is too good for her. He is the prince and even if he decides to marry a Stark it wouldn't be Arya, it would be Sansa. They say he is only with her to kill time.

The ones who are old enough to remember Robert's rebellion usually stay quiet. They watch Arya and Gendry as they walk around talking and laughing, they remember a different Baratheon boy and a different Stark girl. 

They remember what happened the last time a Baratheon loved a Stark and they are terrified.

They remember Robert before the rebellion, Gendry is a copy of him, both looks and character. Robert wasn't always the whoring drunk king he was today. He used to be kind, his laugh loud and clear, brave, fair, honest, and in love. He had loved a Stark girl so much he had put a stop to a dynasty.

They are afraid of Gendry, what he is capable of.

They remember Lyanna before she went south. Arya is a copy of her, both looks and character. Lyanna was kind, always smiling, making friends with everyone, she was beautiful, not the way Sansa was beautiful, Lyanna had a wild beauty that she carried with grace, if you saw her outside you you would think she was lovely but you wouldn't look twice but once you met her, sit down and talk with her, you wouldn't be able to take your eyes off her.

She had fallen in love with a boy named Robert and she had fallen out of love. Way too soon but not soon enough.

Southerners said Rhaegar kidnapped her, no one said anything in the north about it because they saw how Lyanna looked at Rhaegar when he had named her the queen of love and beauty. They saw how she wanted him but she wasn't really seeing him, she saw him as an exciting new adventure in her monotone life in south.

They knew she had hated south, for once the southerners were right when they said that Stark's are all made of ice, and melt when they ride below the Neck.

They had watched as she withered away day by day. The girl she was in Winterfell, the one who rode till she couldn't walk normally, the one who trained with Benjen behind abandoned towers was gone and she had hated this new woman she became.

They knew Lyanna started despising Robert for taking her from her family and puting her in a dress of a lady, way too tight for her to breath, for her to live in for the rest of her life. Robert loved her in his own way, it was different from what Lyanna knew of love. She had loved him for it once.

She had felt trapped in a cage and when Rhaegar gave her the crown, a crown of winter roses, blue as frost, he had opened the door of that cage and she hadn't hesitated a second as she fleed the cage, burning down the seven kingdoms with her escape. She was too young to care.

They are afraid of Arya. They know she is impulsive, she is restless. She is more wolf than human. They are afraid her fate will be just like Lyanna's. They are afraid history will repeat itself and this time it will be worse.

Jon knows Robb thinks just like their father's men, Arya would never settle down, would never think about it. He can understand the shock he is in. Arya thinking marriage with someone, it would've been a shock to him too if he hadn't been listening Arya's drunk mumblings about Gendry for years.

He pulls himself back together and looks at Arya's eyes 'Are you sure you want him for the rest of your life?' he asks because he knows what kind of a person Arya is. She would chose one person and that would be it for her.

He watches Arya as she thinks about it looking at his hands. 'I am. I had never wanted anything more in my life. I want him so much it hurts Jon .' she says it with such determination and without a doubt he feels it to his bones.

'Then you have to make some sacrificies. You know he doesn't want the crown. He is sacrificing himself for the people. If you want him as much as you say you do then you have to give up somethings too.' it had been a while since her tears had stopped, she starts crying again 'But i don't even know how to be a lady let alone a queen.' Jon wipes her tears and takes her face into his hands 'No one knows how to be anything until they have to, you will learn with Gendry as he learns how to be king. You will learn together and i'm sure you will be the best queen they've ever seen, look at your competition Cercei? even Theon would make a better queen than her.' he doesn't look at Theon as he curses at him, he watches as Arya laughs. 'You have a point.'

After a minute of silence she talks again 'I'm gonna ask him to marry me.' Jon doesn't look away from her as he hears Robb cough and even Theon doesn't say anything this time.

Arya is looking at him waiting for a reaction so he gives her one hoping this is the one she wants 'You'll do great Arya, don't forget to kneel okay?' he laughs as she punches his arm, he catches her hands in his 'He loves you as much as you love him if not more. He will say yes and i know he will treat you like the warrior queen you are, he won't try to change you or cage you. He will treat you with the respect you deserve and he will cherish you for the rest of your life. I know it and you know it too so stop worrying about unimportant things Arya. Go sleep and sober up so you can propose to Gendry the way he deserves okay?'

Arya is looking at him with so much love Jon's heart is about to burst out of his chest when she speaks again 'How can you always know what i need to hear?' He doesn't answer as she gets up from the floor, once she is up on her feet she hugs Jon 'I love you so much Jon, thank you for being by my side in everything i do.' He hugs her back as tight as he can 'I will be by your side until the day i die.'

He watches as she collects herself and gets out of his room. He can't help but feel like it will be the last time he sees her in his room. It makes his heart ache. 'When did you grow up this much? A woman grown, thinking about marriage. What happened to my baby sister, who wanted to be like Nymeria, who never wanted to marry, who said she wanted to go to West of Westeros, who said she would take me with her.' Jon thinks bitterly 'I want her back.' 

There is an uncomfortable silence after the door closes again. Theon spoils it by laughing, so loud after the deafening silence Jon wants to cover his ears.

'Queen Arya?!' he keeps laughing and Jon can see unsure expression on Robb's face too as he talks 'Jon you can't...you can't raise her hopes like this, she'll be wrecked when it won't happen.'

'Who says it won't?' Theon finally stops lauging and looks at him with a mocking face 'You think she will be queen? There is no way...Arya Horseface as queen.' he starts laughing again and Jon is about to punch him when Robb grabs Theon by the neck and stops his laugh 'Theon shut the fuck up. You're drunk now but when you sober up i will kill you if you say that about Arya ever again.' he lets Theon go and looks at Jon 'Jon i know you mean no harm but you know even if Gendry loves her enough to marry her, Cercei would never allow it. You know they say she looks just like Lyanna and Gendry looks like Robert, do you really think Cercei would let it happen and even if she didn't look like Lyanna she is no fit for a crown Jon. She would feel trapped, she would get restless and even if she loves Gendry now, she will hate him for trapping her in a castle far from her home and her family. I love her Jon, more than anything, she is my little sister but you know i'm right, you can't give her false hopes like this.'

Jon looks at him for a second before talking again 'I can't believe how blind all of you are. You're so obsessed with her not behaving like a lady, you can't see what an amazing leader she is, how much she cares for everyone. Robb can you say you know everyones names and needs in Winterfell?'

Robb looks puzzled for a second 'No? But even father can't know..' 'Arya knows. Every one of them, she knows their names, their needs. She knows Allysa gave birth to an unhealty boy who died after two days of struggling 3 years ago. Arya was there, helping her. She was there when Edric broke his leg. She carried him everywhere for a month. You can't see how everyone respects her. Father's men will do anything for her because they respect her and trust her judgement, they would follow her blindly if she ever asked. Gendry loves her the way she is, wild, untamed, free. He would never trap her and i am sure he will fight for her. He would defy his mother for her. Robert would not be that hard, like you said she looks like Lyanna. He would see himself and Lyanna in his sick mind. Even if Arya doesn't believe herself she would be the best queen ever, caring, daring, smart, honest, fair. Even if you don't believe her i do.'

When he stops talking there is that silence again until Robb talks 'It's not that i don't believe her. I'm worried. She's been saying -i don't wanna be a lady- since forever and i'm scared she will regret her choices later and she won't be able to back down.' and that was such a Robb answer Jon had to smile at his worried face 'I know you want to protect her, gods know i want it too but we can't make this kind of choices for her. She has to pave her own way and you know she wouldn't have it any other way. We have to trust her to make her own choices.' Robb simply nods, takes a sip from his bottle and holds out another bottle for him, Jon takes it gladly. 

Theon, finally a little more sober starts 'So what you mean is..' Jon doesn't let him finish 'What i mean is Theon, bow down to your future queen.' he finishes whats left in his bottle.

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU FOR READING. The part where Jon gives Arya the Needle dialogue is directly from the book i just cut some parts of it. Would you be mad if i said it's still a flashback kinda thing? What i imagined first and wanted to write happens in king's landing and they're already betrothed in that one but i wanted some kind of beginnig to it. I hope you're not bored. It's fun to write, i always wanted to read the stories inside my head, finally i can write them myself!! Again thank you for reading please tell me your opinions on my writing, tell me what you liked and what you didn't like so i can improve.


End file.
